Best Shotgun Build - Annihilator (Patch 1.63) - Cyberpunk 2077

This post covers the best Shotgun Build for Cyberpunk 2077. It is a well-known gun that can tear up enemies with many bullets released per shot. It is extremely deadly at the close range

Shotgun Build - Annihilator

The build works with almost any shotgun. Shotgun-related perks are specifically created so that they would do as high as possible damage when you move. This creates a fast-paced combat demon that is not afraid to take on the enemies head-on.

However, to pull it off appropriately you will need to practice. Fast-paced combat in Cyberpunk is a bit clunky. So you need to get used to character speed and be able to hit with your shotgun in this fast movement.

Of course, we also include crafting. Although this may look irrelevant, it will allow us to craft the best shotguns in the game. Moreover, high Technical Ability will ensure that we have high armor for late-game encounters (due to balancing problems, this does not give many benefits on very hard)

Attributes with Berserk (boost to damage and HP)

This section will cover the main attributes of the Shotgun Build. I will be covering this variation throughout the build as it allows maximizing the trees mostly related to the build. However, the next section offers Sandevistan alternative

Starting the game

• Body+3. This will maximize Shotgun damage, give bonus HP and unlock perks.
• Cool +3. It will allow you to increase the effectiveness of Cold Blood. It is a necessary attribute for offensive builds. Moreover, we want to start accumulating the perk tree XP as soon as possible
• Technical Ability +1 - for now this is not really important, but as the game goes on, we can craft better gear and get bonus armor.

Progression

Here is how I suggest progressing with the attributes as you level up:

• +2 Body
• +1 Cool
• +1 Technical Ability. +2 once the Body reaches 20

With this attribute allocation, you should be able to quickly reach a high Body. This will result in better shotgun damage and survivability

Level	Reflex	Body	Tech	Cool	Int
10	3	12	5	8	3
30	3	20	12	13	3
50	8	20	20	20	3

• Body 20. The main attribute of this build. It ensures that you have sufficiently high HP and the shotgun weapon gets relevant perks.
• Technical Ability 20. I really enjoy this tree as it provides bonus armor and allows crafting the best gear in the game.
• Cool 20. This tree provides very good bonuses to overall combat. Shotgun Build benefits from the high Cold Blood perk tree.
• Reflexes 8. We take a few points to increase Crit Chance.

Attributes with Sandevistan (time slowing)

If you wish to use the Sandevistan operating system, I suggest this attribute allocation. Generally, the perks are the same, it's just that you will miss out on some of them, particularly the ones with levels 16-20.

Although this option would do less damage, the time slowing gives easier control while running, making the game a bit easier.

Starting the game

• Body+3. This will maximize Shotgun damage, give bonus HP and unlock perks.
• Cool +2. It will allow you to increase the effectiveness of Cold Blood. It is a necessary attribute for offensive builds.
• Reflexes +2

Progression

Here is how I suggest progressing with the attributes as you level up:

• +2 Body
• +2 Reflexes
• +1 Cool
• +1 Technical Ability.

With this attribute allocation, you should be able to quickly reach a high Body. This will result in better shotgun damage and survivability

Level	Reflex	Body	Tech	Cool	Int
10	7	11	3	7	3
30	15	17	6	10	3
50	15	18	18	17	3

• Body 18. The main attribute of this build. It ensures that you have sufficiently high HP and the shotgun weapon gets relevant perks.
• Reflexes 15. This allows us to take the Sandevistan with the lowest cooldown time
• Technical Ability 18. It is enough to start crafting Legendary iconic shotguns
• Cool 17. This tree provides very good bonuses to overall combat. Shotgun Build benefits from the high Cold Blood perk tree.

Perks

I will only suggest the most important perks for the Shotgun build. The build requires a high amount of perk points. So be sure to level all of your ability trees to obtain them besides the main leveling

Annihilation

This perk tree directly improves the effectiveness of Shotguns.

Body Level	Skill	Description
1	Hail of Bullets x3	Shotguns deal 10% more damage. Mandatory perk for Shotgun build
5	Pump It, Louder!	Reduces recoil of Shotguns by 20%.
5	In Your Face	Reduces the reload time of Shotguns by 30%.
7	Dead Center x2	Increases damage to torsos from Shotguns by 20%
7	Bloodrush x2	Increases movement speed in combat by 10% while carrying a Shotgun
9	Bulldozer	Increases Crit Chance with Shotguns by 5%.
9	Mongoose	Increases Mitigation Chance by 25% while reloading Shotguns
11	Momentum Shift x3	Defeating an enemy using a Shotgun or Light Machine Gun increases movement speed by 20% for 10 sec.
11	Massacre x3	Increases Crit Damage with Shotguns by 30%.
12	Heavy Lead	Shotguns and knockback enemies with more force.
12	Skeet Shooter	Deal 15% more damage to moving targets using Shotguns
14	Manic	When entering combat using a Shotgun, your movement speed increases by 20% for 10 sec.
14	Unstoppable	Dismembering an enemy using a Shotgun increases the fire rate by 10% for 8 sec. Stacks up to 3 times
16	Speed Demon	You deal more damage the faster you're moving.
18	Poppin' Off x2	Shotguns have a 50% higher chance of dismembering enemies.
18	Hit the Deck x2	Increases damage to staggered and knocked-down enemies from Shotguns by 20%.
20	Biathlete	The weapon spread from Shotguns does not increase while moving.
20	Bloodbath	Dismembering enemies with a Shotgun or Light Machine Gun reduces weapon recoil by 30% for 6 sec. +1% per Perk level.

Athletics

This tree improves the Agility and survival of Shotgun Build

Body Level	Skill	Description
1	Regeneration	Health slowly regenerates during combat.
1	Pack Mule	Increases carrying capacity by 60.
7	Epimorphosis	Increases Health regen threshold from 60/65/70% to 65/70/75% in combat and to 100% out of combat.
7	Wolverine	Health regen activates 20/40/60% faster during combat.
11	Divided Attention	Allows you to reload weapons while sprinting, sliding, and vaulting.
11	Like a Butterfly	Dodging does not drain Stamina.
11	Multitasker	Allows you to shoot while sprinting, sliding, and vaulting.
12	Tenacious V	Getting hit does not interrupt Health regeneration.
12	Invincible	Increases max Health by 15%.
14	Marathoner	Sprinting does not drain Stamina.
16	Dog of War x2	Increases Health regen in combat by 30/60%
16	Cardio Cure x2	Health regenerates 15/25% faster as you move.
18	Steel Shell	Increases Armor by 10%.
20	The Rock	Enemies cannot knock you down.
20	Indestructible	Reduces all incoming damage by 10%.
20	Hard Mother******	When entering combat, Armor and Resistances increase by 10% for 10 sec. +1% per Perk level.

Crafting

I have always loved having high crafting. Making the best weapons in the game will make your gameplay much easier, especially on high difficulties.

Technical Ability Level	Skill	Description
1	Mechanic	Gain more components when disassembling.
5	Scrapper	Junk items are automatically disassembled.
5	True Craftsman	Allows you to craft Rare items.
11	Field Technician x2	Crafted weapons deal 5/10% more damage.
12	Grease Monkey	Allows you to craft Epic items.
16	Tune-Up	Allows you to upgrade lower-quality components into higher-quality ones.
18	Edgerunner Artisan	Allows you to craft Legendary items.
20	Cutting Edge	Improves damage and all damage-related stats of crafted weapons by 5%.

Ninjutsu

We take a few abilities from this tree to better complement the Shotgun build

Cool Level	Skill	Description
7	Assassin	Deal 15% more damage to human enemies.
12	From the Shadows x2	Upon entering combat, Crit Chance increases by 10/20% for 7 sec.
16	Hasty Retreat	Temporarily boosts movement speed by 50% for 5 sec. when detected by an enemy.

Cold Blood

This perk tree is significant. Not only does it provide a bonus to offensive stats it also increases armor and health regeneration with stacks of Cold Blood

Cool Level	Skill	Description
1	Cold Blood x3	This perk allows gaining a stack of Cold Blood for each enemy killed.
7	Easy Out x2	Ranged weapon damage is increased by 20% if hitting enemies within a 5-meter radius.
9	Rapid Bloodflow x2	Health regeneration is increased by 10% for each stack of Cold Blood
9	Defensive Clotting x2	Armor is increased by 10% for each stack of Cold Blood
11	Frozen Precision	Headshot damage is increased by 5% per stack of Cold Blood
11	Collagulant	Cold Blood stacks are removed one by one.
12	Icy Veins x2	Weapon recoil is reduced by 6% for each stack of Cold Blood you have active.
14	Cold and Calculating	Crit Hits now provide a chance to gain Cold Blood. Due to many bullets with Shotgun, you will be able to generate the stacks very fast
14	Pain is an Illusion	Reduces damage taken by 5% when Cold Blood is active
16	Critical Condition x2	Cold Blood duration is increased by 50%. The bonuses will now stay longer.
16	Coldest Blood x2	Increases maximum number of Cold Blood stacks by 2. Very valuable perk for Shotgun builds to maximize Cold Blood bonuses when fighting many enemies.
18	Immunity	Negates negative effects of Bleeding, Poison, Burn, and Shock. For this to activate you need 4 stacks of Cold Blood.
20	Bloodswell	A great ability that provides additional survival chance. If you take lethal damage, Cold Blood stacks are drained and they restore HP.
20	Merciless	This is a very powerful ability for Shotgun build. It increases Crit Chance by 5% and Crit Damage by 25% while Cold Blood is active

Engineering (optional)

I recommend taking abilities from this tree if you have a Tech shotgun and enjoy using it

Cool Level	Skill	Description
14	Ubercharge	Fully charged Tech weapons deal 30% more damage.
16	*** All Walls	Reduces the charge amount needed for Tech weapons to penetrate walls by 30%.
18	Lickety Split x2	Tech weapon charge time is reduced by 10/20%.
20	Superconductor	Tech weapons ignore Armor.

Build tactics

I think this build does not really have any special tactics. Mainly it would be best if you were smart about your approaches as you do not have any quickhacks or Sandevistan.

I think the main idea is to get a grasp on how to move fast and shoot enemies. When moving, the build does substantially more damage. So as you can guess this requires a very aggressive playstyle. I think if you start with shotguns, in the mid-game, you will get the feel of controls and utilize the running mechanic 100%

Another great idea with a Shotgun is to shoot enemies one by one. What do I mean by that? Usually, with a Shotgun, you will knock down an enemy.

This is very useful and this gives you a few seconds to shoot another enemy and knock it out. This way you can greatly increase your survival

Another thing to have in mind is to use the Berserker operating system as often as possible. Definitely activate it in early combat. This is when enemies will concentrate all the fire on you and you need as much bonus armor as you can get

Equipment recommendations

In this section, I will cover recommended gear for Shotgun build in Cyberpunk 2077

Shotguns

There are many unique shotgun options. Generally, I suggest trying them out and picking the ones that feel the most at home.

I will share the ones that I think are the best:

Priority	Item	Description
1	Sovereign	Although this shotgun has only two rounds, however, Shotgun Build takes many reload perks ensuring fast reloads. It shoots both barrels using aim-down sights.
2	Ba Xing Chong	Available fairly late in the game, however, it is a very strong Smart Shotgun.
3	The Headsman	A very powerful shotgun that also deals chemical damage. It also doubles the projectiles shot as a special effect
4	DB-4 Palica	A smart shotgun that only has two rounds

Weapon Mods

Item	Description
Crunch	Increases damage. I think overall the best mod for the shotgun.
Neon Arrow	Reduces weapon reload time by 5%.
Penetrator	Increases Crit Chance
Pacifier	Increases Crit Damage

Armor Mods

Mod name	Description
Deadeye	Although you will not concentrate on headshots, the mod provides a very high damage increase: +6% Crit Damage +15% Headshot Damage Multiplier
Fortuna	Increases Crit Chance by 4%
Bully	It gives an 8% Crit Damage bonus
Armadillo	Provides bonus armor. Good for increased survival

Cyberware - Frontal Cortex

Slot	Item	Description
1	Heal-On-Kill	This item provides a certain percentage of health after each enemy that you kill. Unfortunately, this build can only wear Common rarity, due to low reflexes attribute.
2	Mechatronic Core	I recommend this one because it will greatly boost damage against mechs. On higher difficulties, this helps a lot in certain encounters.

Cyberware - Ocular System

Slot	Item	Description
1	Kiroshi Optics Mk.3	Enables to have additional upgrades for the ocular system. Try to get the highest rarity which is Epic. It provides 3 upgrade slots.

The ocular system recommended mods:

Mod name	Description
Trajectory Analysis	Increases headshot bonus damage by 25%.
Weakspot Detection	Increases Crit Chance by 2%.

Cyberware - Circulatory System

Slot	Item	Description
1	Biomonitor	Instantly restores a large portion of health when it drops below a certain threshold.
2	Bioconductor	You can now activate Kerenzikov, Biomonitor, and Second Heart more often.
3	Second Heart	Another great option, especially early in the game when you may die often. It provides a second chance before you die.

Cyberware - Immune System

Slot	Item	Description
1	Shock-n-Awe	Release electroshock when being hit. Has a certain activation chance.
2	Pain Editor	Reduces all the damage that you receive by 10%.

Cyberware - Nervous System

You can wear 2 pieces of cyberwar for the Nervous System. Try to get the highest Rarity of the mentioned item

Slot	Item	Description
1	Kerenzikov	You can now slow time when dodging or sliding.
2	Synaptic Accelerator	Perfect for stealth builds. When you are detected slows time, so you can take the best available action.

Cyberware - Integumentary System

Slot	Item	Description
1	Subdermal Armor	Provides flat armor increase. Try to obtain the highest rarity for the highest value.
2	Optical Camo	This is a bad boy. You will become invisible for a few seconds which you can use to take out enemies. Really neat cyberware for a stealth build
3	Heat Converter	Increases damage if you are burning

Cyberware - Operating System

Priority	Item	Description
1	BioDyne Berserk Mk.4	Provides 25% weapon handling improvement and 5% armor bonus. Unfortunately has 60 seconds cooldown. Also provides 20% more ranged damage.
2	BioDyne Berserk Mk.3	It improves weapon handling by 25% and gives a 15% more damage bonus.
3	Zetatech Berserk Mk.5	This Berserker operating system improves weapon handling by 20% and armor by 10%. The good thing about it is that it only has a 30 seconds cooldown.
4	BioDyne Berserk Mk.2	Rare version, that improves weapon handling by 25% and gives a 10% damage boost. Comes with 60 seconds cooldown

Here are the berserk mods that I recommend for Shotgun build:

Mod name	Description
Devastating Berserk	While Berserk is active, increases Crit Chance
Chained Berserk	Reduces Berserk cooldown
Sharpened Berserk	While Berserk is active, it increases Crit Damage
Focused Berserk	While Berserk is active, reduces weapon sway

However, if you chose the Sandevistan option here are the ones I recommend

Priority	Item	Description
1	QianT Sandevistan Mk.4	This one has 12 seconds cooldown. Moreover, it provides decent time slowly, so this is my preferred option. With the upgrades, you can greatly reduce its cooldown.
2	Dynalar Sandevistan Mk.4	Another good option that provides a longer Sandevistan duration of 16 seconds
3	Dynalar Sandevistan Mk.3	Slows time by 50% for 16 seconds. A very good option and get as early as possible. It is of Epic rarity

And the mods

Mod name	Description
Heatsink	Reduces Sandevistan cooldown. This is the best upgrade once you are able to get it. It will greatly improve Sandevistan effectiveness. To craft the Legendary tier you will need to have Crafting progression rewards at level 18.
Prototype Chip	While Sandevistan is active, increases Crit Chance by 5%.
Neurotransmitters	While Sandevistan is active, increases Crit Damage by 15%.
Overclocked Processor	Increases duration of Sandevistan

Cyberware - Skeleton

Slot	Item	Description
1	Bionic Joints	Reduces recoil of Ranged weapons
2	Synaptic Signal Optimizer	Increases Health. It dramatically improves the survivability of Shotgun Build in the late game.

Cyberware - Hands

Slot	Item	Description
1	Smart Link	Take this one if you will use Smart shotguns.
1	Ballistic Coprocessor	Use this cyberware if you plan to take Power shotguns. The legendary version gives +50% ricochet damage.

Cyberware - Legs

Slot	Item	Description
1	Reinforced Tendons	My personal favorite makes traversing much easier.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this post. I hope it helps you understand how to best build Shotgun build in Cyberpunk 2077.

The build is costly in terms of Perk needed. It also requires some practice to correctly hit & run. If you stay still the build loses a lot of damage and health regeneration bonuses

Feel free to leave feedback in the comments!